All questions tagged Career Advising - Consulting Q&A - PrepLounge.com

Hello there,

As a matter of fact, this conversations are quite commonplace to be engaged by consultants, particularly for 2 types of people:

• New graduates who are exploring consulting as their potential career path (while simultaneously exploring other options such as IB)
• Experienced hires (e.g. industry expert from other sectors, which you are classified within), who are tyring to figure how the industry works and whether it would suit their personal aspiration and preferences.

I can't speak for every single person, but most consultants would be excited to engage with experience hires, given that you have domain expertise and are able to interact on a deeper level for these conversations.

And it is perfectly alright to inquire them on the plus and minus of working in consulting industry, for your consideration materials.

As you might be already aware, job search is a 2-way street, it is as important for the candidate to explore in details whether the company would suit them as it is fort he company to evaluate whether the candidate is suitable to be part of the company and try to attract them.

For the questions, it can be open ended. I would suggest the following questions for starters:

• What is the plus and minus of working in the firm based on the consultant's experiences (people love to share their stories)?
• How the firm fares in your functional / industrial area of interest?
• What adjustments / differences you might encounter by shifting into consulting sector from finance sector?
• How difficult is the transition if the consultant have made similar moves themselves?

Hope it helps.
I wish you all the best.

Kind regards,
Nathan

Hi,

Your age is only a number and it will definitely not play against you. In fact, more and more clients are looking for "consultants with grey hair", which means they are looking for experienced people who can add value to them. Having said that, you should definitely think about the following and only apply to join Management Consulting if you can overcome the points below:

1. Be open to learn new things: at the age of 39, people tend to be recognizes as experts in their fields (especially when you hold a PhD), and by moving to management consulting, you will certainly be a beginner in several elements (consulting toolkit in general). Your experience will help you learn and grow quickly, but you should not forget that you are joining a new industry for you and that you will need some time to adapt. Also keep in mind that if you join as a generalist, your computer science skills can be irrelevant to the job you will be doing and that you are starting a new career
2. Accept to be managed by younger colleagues: at the age of 39, you will probably be the oldest member of the team. You will have Partner (or sometimes Senior Partners) who are younger than you. It might look a bit strange, but a lot of people find it difficult to be managed by people who are much younger than them (as a consultant, your Manager will probably be 10-12 years younger than you). Keep in mind that you are there for a reason and that you need to maximize your learning from everyone, despite how young they are.

You might also think about joining some technology practices in order build on your current expertise and get a specialization early in your career. Some consulting firms (most of the MBBs) have a technology branch that might also interest you. I will invite you to learn about BCG Platinion, McKinsey Digital Labs, etc.

Finally, do not forget why you are joining this industry. For many people, management consulting is a gateway to some bigger professional goals they have and that is why they accept to make several sacrifices, because it is definitely worth it!

Do not hesitate to reach out to me should you need further advice on these elements.

All the best :)

Mehdi

Hi A,

First of all, I would advise you to take your colleagues' advice with a pinch of salt. It honestly sounds like you got some random feedback (people always feel like they have to say some "grow areas" as well). E.g., being "naive" probably just means that you are inexperienced, I don't think it's a very strong and actionable feedback to say. It's great that you are doing self-reflection. Filter out the noise and focus on those people's opinions that you respect the most.

Secondly, building confidence is always a tough thing in consulting where everyone is super smart around you. My 2 pieces of advice are

- Focus on your strengths. What makes you unique? I have colleagues who have a ton or areas of improvement, but really excel in 1-2 things and do a great job in "branding" themselves from those angles. People know them as "the analytics guy" or the "get things done lady" which gives them a unique edge when it comes to e.g., getting staffed on projects.

- The best advice I ever got was: don't ask for permission, ask for forgiveness. Now this obviously does not mean that you don't align with your supervisors before making decisions. But it reflects the leadership and ownership mindset that you have to possess. Act as if you are on your own and trust that the leadership will have your back. This mindset shift won't happen from one day to another.

Best,

Réka

Dear A,

I'm very much familiar with your situation. Good friend of mine also had the same situation, when she moved to Germany after MBA without speaking German language. It's always recommendable to stay where you currently are, especially if your employer gives to you that many exceptions. So that means that they really value you and you have secure environment to stay there for a couple of years and learn a lot of things about transactional advisory and also learn local language in parallel. Afterwards you always would be able to switch the employer and look for MBB in 2-3 years from now.

If you have help, advice or insights, feel free to reach out.

Good luck,
André

Hi there,

Congrats on the offers! This is a good question to solve at this period of time.

Either option can potentially lead you to a top consulting firm down the road. But you should try to find out and consider:

(1) For the engineer role in EAS, would there be opportunities for you to transfer to a business role or get enough business exposure? There are people who move from engineering background to consulting as experienced hire, but they usually have gained decent business knowledge and skill sets. Otherwise you likely would start from a junior role when you switch to consulting;

(2) For the local consulting firm, how is its reputation and credibility in the consulting industry? Are there prior successful examples of people moving from this firm to the other bigger consulting companies? If so then it sounds a legit path. Nonetheless if you choose this route, make sure you work hard and get most out of the work - make yourself a top performer that all firms would want to hire.

Anyway, congrats again!

Emily

Hi Pedro,

if you manage to spend some time in MBB before your MBA application, this will increase the chances to be accepted in a top MBA. Your options are not mutual exclusive though, you may try 1 (apply to MBB) and if doesn’t work go for 2 (stick to SK).

In terms of timing: recruiting is slowing down globally, including in the Middle East – I would try to connect with someone in MBB in your target geographies to understand the status there and if it makes sense to apply now or to wait few months.

As a side note: an MBA is not the best path to entrepreneurship – you would learn far more saving 1-2 years and 100k-150k required for the MBA unless sponsored and investing them in a new company. Even if you fail you will learn a lot more for your following venture.

Best,

Francesco

Hi A,

If I were you, I would look for the roles that I might be interested in. For example, with start-ups or with big corporations. I would look for roles which awake my personal interest and my motivation. And don't think that you need to pass into certain clichés in order to get invited as an experienced hire later on. I think, if you can perform on your future job very well, you would be eligible to re-apply and try your chance again after couple of years.


Good luck!

André

In my opinion, the best way to prepare for consulting is to practice a few case interviews or take a day to day problem/solution and approach it as it were a case. Second, there are some great reading materials on this platform as well as Victor Cheng's book.

Hi Anonymous,

honestly none of the positions would make easy to be considered for MBB. The standard profiles for top consulting firms are:

• Top new graduates – either undergrad or MBA
• Consultants from other MBB or Tier 2
• Strategy roles in big brands

This doesn’t mean you cannot move from a non-strategy role in F50 or from a small consulting to MBB but it will be hard.

My suggestion is to try to freeze the offer and apply now for MBB and Tier 2. If that doesn’t work I would choose looking at where the alumni of your company and the consulting firm ended to make a decision. Once chosen, you could then reapply in due time and if that also doesn’t work apply for an MBA and reapply after that.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

first of all, congratulations on your offer! If you want to prepare in advance before you start, I would recommend working on technical, communication and stress management skills.

• On the technical side, Excel will be the most important technical thing to master at the beginning, in particular for VLOOKUPs and Pivot tables; you could also review PowerPoint, which you will also use quite a lot.
  • At BCG we got learning courses we could use to improve on them, and I guess you will receive the same at McKinsey, but so far that you have already mastered the skills before joining (you can find several courses online for both), even better.
  • Tip for Excel: learn how to use as much as possible the keyword and relegate the touchpad to the minimum – this will skyrocket your productivity in the long term. Some computer programs such as KeyRocket provide tips to improve on this.
• For what concerns communication, I would recommend the classic book on the topic: “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.
• For stress management, I would recommend two books:
  • “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod – great tips to start in the right way your day
  • “The Magic of Thinking Big” by David Schwartz – a great sum up of some of the best tips be positive, productive and achieve more

Below you can also find a list of things that could be useful to practice during your first weeks:

1. Take notes when your manager tells you something – this will help you to remember details and will show you care about them to the team.
2. Always double check. The first impression is very important in consulting: if you show you are reliable from the beginning, you create a reputation of a reliable person. Double checks should be done on expectations for your job, your excel analysis, your slides – basically everything.
3. Define priorities before starting any set of tasks. The majority of the results usually come from a subset of activities – this is true also for your tasks in consulting. You have to identify which they are and prioritize them – the application of the so-called 80-20 rule or Pareto Principle.
4. Socialize with your colleagues and start to build a network. Consulting is a people business and you should build a good network both within and outside the company. A good start is key to develop good relationships long-term
5. Organize your private life activities. You want to organize your calendar to leave some space for personal activities (sport/ friends/ family). This is not easy but can be managed if you organize well, and long-term will be critical to keep a balance between work and private life. Also, it is better to align with your manager/teammates from the beginning on your core needs, so that there are no surprises later on.
6. Ask for feedback every two-three weeks – this will show you are proactive and willing to learn.
7. Ask for help when you don't know what to do – better to let know you are in trouble with meeting a deadline then missing the deadline.
8. Be social and respectful with the support staff – these people are great and influential as well in the company.

In terms of clothes, I would be sure to have business attire available for at least one week.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

big brands are indeed useful to stand out in the application phase, however there are some ways to compensate for their absence:

1. Ask to an experienced friend/current consultant/ expert to review your CV/Cover. There may be improvements that can help you to stand out
2. Find a referral for your application. This is the single most powerful thing you can do to get an invitation. You can find some tips here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

Hope this helps,
Francesco

Hi Hrag,

an established consulting brand makes definitely easier to join a top MBA; moreover, in many countries, MBB and other top brands can sponsor MBAs to top performers, while boutique consulting companies normally don’t do so. Having said that, it is possible to join a top MBA even coming from a boutique. The likelihood of such transition depends on the brand of the boutique – you should be able to get an idea looking at the alumni of the company on LinkedIn and considering how many proceed their career with an MBA.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

Research Analyst and Associate are actually two very different positions at McKinsey for several reasons:

1. Tasks. The Research Analyst position is a back office role where you (i) do not have much client interaction; (ii) work with multiple teams at the same time; (iii) focus in research on specific topics (in this case: O&G). The Business Analyst is a position where you (i) have direct contact with the client; (ii) work in a single team per project; (iii) cover different sectors till when you specialize (usually at Engagement Manager level).
2. Seniority. Research Analyst is an entry-level position, equivalent to the Business Analyst one in the consulting path at McK. Associate is the post-MBA position at McK (which therefore requires 2 years as business analyst plus an MBA)
3. Career path. The two roles have different career path. As a Research Analyst you will naturally grow to Senior Research Analyst and then to Knowledge Expert. As Business Analyst you will move to Associate, Engagement Manger, Principle and Partner.

To my knowledge, the interview process is similar to the one for the Business Analyst position, although with more market sizing related questions; you may also get technical questions to test your knowledge on the specific sector you will focus on.

It is possible but not common to move from the research career path to the consulting one. It is unlikely you will move from Research Analyst to Associate though, far more likely you will start back as Business Analyst (maybe with one year seniority). Alternatively, you would have to wait to become Senior Research Analyst and then target to move to Associate.

Best,

Francesco

Hey Matt,

I've already answered you privately to this question, but would like to leave my answer here because it might benefit other people in similar situations:

• As Juan Pablo already refferred, getting into MBBs are difficult for everyone at all, even people coming from Harvard or Stanford, just because competition is huge and the number of available spots are quite reduced
• That said, your background is not an handicap at all as far as you're able to clearly demonstrate why you want to move, as consulting firms (especially MBBs and even more especially McKinsey) do love background diversity, so as far as you're able to show business accumen and perform well in the dimension the firms test for you would get an offer (they can't care less about your previous background!) - as an example, the majority of the ex-physicians in my MBA cohort transitioned to Consulting; as another example, I just coached 2 ex-physician at LBS who got an MBB offer, and let me tell you that both of them performed much better than many people with a business background
• Finally, for me the biggest issue with your case is that you don't come from a target University for virtually any MBB, which makes much complicated to get an interview in the first place. So, my reccommendation is for you to network as much as possible in order to try to secure as a referral. E.g., search on LinkedIn for people with a very similar profile as yours in your target companies

Btw, I don't think it's going to be any easier for you to get into a tier 2 consulting firm, as they tend to value much more a traditional background. The biggest alternative might be boutique companies specialized on healthcare or life science topics!

Best

Bruno

Hi Anonymous,

In general, given your background, the most important thing you should do is proper networking. I wrote below my answers to your questions, and after that some tips on how to do that.

If I want to start from scratch, what consulting firms should I aim for?

I would search on LinkedIn where alumni from your universities are working now in consulting – this will give you an idea of the reasonable targets.

Is it possible to work in a lower tier consulting firm and try to apply for MBB after few years?

Definitely possible, it happens pretty often. Turnover in MBB is pretty high (average in many countries is 3 years), thus they continuously look for new hire, and former consultants are always a good subset where to look for (the brand of the lower tier consulting firm is obviously important for the screening).

Or should I start my career in other industries instead, and come back after few years?

If you want to do consulting, I would start now. Alternatives may be strong corporate brand in strategy role, but only if the corporate brand would be a lot stronger than the lower tier consulting firm one.

As for what you should do for networking, I would recommend the following:

1. Identify who are the people who could more easily help you. Alumni of your current university on LinkedIn should be the first targets

2. Write them a customized cold email

3. Have a call with the consultant, and indirectly ask for a referral

Of course, each step should be structured in a proper way to maximize the chances of moving to the next step. I have used this method when I applied for consulting, and I believe this is the main reason why I got invitations for all the applications I did (McK, Bain, BCG, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, Booz&Co - now Strategy&): I never applied through the website, as I always had a person referring me.

Finally, so far that you find alumni of your current university in MBB, it could be possible for you to be invited there as well with appropriate networking, thus I would try that for them as well.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Joshua,

I would try to follow the steps below:

1. Increase strategy roles in your CV – ideally with no profit activities or free advisory for startups. If you have already sufficient strategy/consulting elements in your CV you can skip this step.
2. Practice on case and fit questions – at the following links you can find some tips on how to get started for case interviews:
   • Chronological steps to follow: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/where-shall-i-start-for-the-case-interview-808
   • Areas to prepare: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-would-you-prepare-for-a-full-time-position-for-bgc-724
   • Material to use for preparation: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mck-first-round-interview-340
3. Network with current consultants in order to receive a referral

If you manage to receive an offer, you will likely join as an Analyst (McK) or Associate (BCG) with 1-1.5 years of experience in the firm. If the previous steps do not work, it could be useful to apply for an MBA and try again after that, targeting an Associate (McK) or Consultant (BCG) position.

As for Chartership, I don’t think it could have a relevant impact on the application.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi,

1) If you mean resume screening - very high. Then you have to prep to pass an interview

2) MBA if you want it - the earlier the better. The problem is that Post MBA positions are pretty much the same and don't depend on your extra experience. You'll also get a scholarship in top MBAs covering 40-60% of tutition

However, if you need MBA financing from a consulting company - you should work there for a couple of years first.

My recommendation is to do MBA first and join consulting as an Associate (Consultant)

3. General firms. If you are passionate about technical staff - join Digital or Venture branches of BIG3 firms

4. 740 - definitely include

Good luck!